The Criterion Collection

[Darkcritic]

Originally Posted by TJS_Blu

When New Yorker manages to deliver a good looking Blu, then we can say they are doing something right. Their DVD efforts were less than optimal. Hopefully, New Yorker's taste in titles will be equaled by their ability to deliver a superior product.

Really? Well, I didn't know that and it kinda of sucks . Still, let's hope they pull their act together .

[harry lime]

Back in the DVD heydays I used to cry uncontrollably while looking at DVDbeaver comparisons of New Yorker titles. They sure know how to massacre a title.

[Hendershot737]

Originally Posted by Roninblues

The sale is indeed a fine time to save on the box sets. I have all the Japanese sets and several others including Fuller's.
Eclipse Series 17: Nikkatsu Noir and Eclipse Series 21 - Oshima's Outlaw Sixties would be my suggestions for the Japanese. The ones I might hold off on are the Ozu films as there are Region B Blu-Ray versions of several of his films.

I've been holding off on the Eclipse sets as well...but maybe it's now time to partake. Where does one begin? At the beginning? So many options!

[Movie Nut]

Anyone know if Aguirre: The Wrath of God stands a snowballs chance in Hades of ever getting a Criterion Blu-ray release? I don't know who has the rights to that one but it could look amazing in Blu-ray and is an excellent film.

[harry lime]

Originally Posted by Movie Nut

Anyone know if Aguirre: The Wrath of God stands a snowballs chance in Hades of ever getting a Criterion Blu-ray release? I don't know who has the rights to that one but it could look amazing in Blu-ray and is an excellent film.

mmmmmm imagine that and Fitzcarraldo! Or a Herzog-Kinski boxset....

[georgec]

Originally Posted by harry lime

mmmmmm imagine that and Fitzcarraldo! Or a Herzog-Kinski boxset....

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by Movie Nut

Anyone know if Aguirre: The Wrath of God stands a snowballs chance in Hades of ever getting a Criterion Blu-ray release?

It's been said that Criterion passed on the Anchor Bay Herzog films before.

[harry lime]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

It's been said that Criterion passed on the Anchor Bay Herzog films before.

That sounds like an insane thing to do. Wonder what the logic was behind that one. They acquire a documentary about the filming of Fitzcarraldo and release it as apart of the Criterion Collection, yet pass on the actual film itself?

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by HuggyBear73

Interesting. So do you think this is why TPC was recalled then by Amazon? People thought that 1080i was a defect, but isn't? Again, I got my copy from Amazon, but haven't opened it up yet. Some suggested many received defective copies due to UPS shipping. If that was the case, why pull their initial stock? Just ship in cardboard mailers then. How many of you guys here purchased your copy of TPC from Amazon without any problems?

Mine was fine HuggyBear...in fact, so beautiful it made my days later experience with Island of Lost Souls rather disappointing due to their 'best-we-could-do-with-what's-left-of-it' reconstruction/restoration. Although I purchased my Criterion Blu-ray of The Phantom Carriage from Amazon.CA, not *.COM, I can't see how that should make any difference. All Criterions sold north of the 49th are U.S. imports, and pretty much always have been*.

* Except for the Traffic and Chasing Amy DVDs which were stamped and distributed by Alliance Atlantis for the Canuck market. Our 15th Anniversary Dead Ringers reissue by TVA films also used Criterion's master (including all special features plus Criterion Collection branding), but was not a numbered series edition.

[kndy]

Originally Posted by Hendershot737

I've been holding off on the Eclipse sets as well...but maybe it's now time to partake. Where does one begin? At the beginning? So many options!

i own most most of them (never bought the flamenco title) but there has not been one that I have been disappointed with. What are you into?

i am really enjoying the messages on here...no more talk of cases..lol.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by BluPix

On this, the release date of The Tree of Life (via Fox), I want to express my feeling that I still think this masterpiece will be given the Criterion treatment within the next year or two.

The reasons behind by hunch:

1. The extras on today's Fox release are quite slim (though of a nice quality).

2. There's a Criterion release of every feature from director Terrence Malick except for the two (Badlands and The New World) controlled by Warner Bros. and its subsidiaries, which historically seem to frown on licensing the films in its catalog to other studios for rerelease (though I once read somewhere that Warner is thinking of making an exception for Malick on Criterion; I don't know how true that is).

3. Criterion has an ongoing relationship with Fox, where Fox films are released by Criterion. For example, Bigger than Life, Walkabout, The Thin Red Line and 3 Women.

4. The Tree of Life seems to fit well with the sorts of artistic, intellectual and thought-provoking titles the Criterion Collection is known for.

It's just a gut feeling, but here's hoping I'm right. I'd love to see that become a reality.

...plus 5. According to several reports quoting Malick himself (unless he's yanking everyone's chain here), a 6 hour version of Tree of Life exists! That sounds like a Criterion box to me...

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by BluPix

Thanks for the recommendation.
A Christmas Tale was one of those films I just missed when it was out in theaters that year.

Ditto. And that blind buy Blu-ray was an absolute pleasure once I finally got around to it. Oh well, better late than never.

Originally Posted by BluPix

I've always wanted to see it since. And House seems as if it would be a bizzare oddity of a film (in a good way ).

"Bizzare" and "oddity" are understatements BluPix. I don't even consider House a "film" in even the most elastic sense of that word...more like some kind of stream-of-consciousness video happening. Another blind buy, and glad I saw it, but man was that thing out there! Ohbayashi is clearly nuts...albeit creatively so.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by BluPix

As far as I know, the only Sony-controled titles Criterion has the rights to are those found in the America Lost and Found/BBS box. I really do wish there were more. Sony is definitely not at the forefront when it comes to releasing its catalog on blu.

Lots of great neglected/underrepresented filmmakers in that library BluPix. Near the top of my hypothetical list of poorly served 'mainstream' talent would be Blake Edwards with Experiment in Terror and Nicholas Ray with In a Lonely Place. Even Welles with The Lady from Shanghai, or (seemingly ready-made-for-Criterion) Satyajit Ray with his Apu Trilogy.

If recent reports are accurate though, it sounds like the Columbia/TriStar/Sony library will be going to Twilight Time on Blu-ray...if they get done at all.

[tenia]

Speaking of Eclipse, I would just stay away from the Ozu boxes, since it is coming to BD, courtesy of BFI (but Region B locked, then).

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

World on a Wire or no deal.

FWIW SpiderBaby your apparent obsession over Fassbinder's World on a Wire - a film I'd unfortunately never even heard of before reading this forum - has won another convert. Now I want that one too!

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

It is a bit strange they didn't include the original [Gojira] title on the cover..... but I guess, marketing-wise, it sort of makes sense

Since this set contains both versions of the film, isn't it possible - likely? - that Criterion will release it in some kind of 'flopper' packaging (as they did with both versions of The Killers)? Or if they do use a transparent Scanavo case, maybe include a reversible cover insert?

I think they're only showing the Godzilla artwork for promotional purposes outside the core Criterion collector community. I'd bet a fin that the release product includes equal coverage for the original.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by octagon

Especially since Traffic sucked

High five octagon! IMO Traffic was one of the most perplexingly shallow films to be run up the awards flagpole in 2001. When it wasn't infuriating me with its too-easy posturing, it was outright boring the piddle out of me.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by oildude

Thanks, drbikeshorts. Your recommendation for the Nikkatsu Noir set is appreciated and I am fairly certain it will be on my buy list. I am also looking into some of these other Eclipse sets you mentioned. I figure to get maybe four sets this time around. I read somewhere that something like 40% of the Eclipse movies are Japanese cinema, so there is a lot to chose from. All of these - Oshima, Kurahara, Ozu, Shimizu, etc are new to me.

Oshima's films are very political, particularly at a formal level. Ozu's and Shimizu's films tend towards a political subtext, but narratively are melodramatic and therefore much more accessible than the Oshima films. As someone noted, the later Ozu films are available from Region B, such as Tokyo Story. However, the early silent comedies have not been upgraded to blu, and judging by the DVDs, the quality of the source material is probably not up to it.
Speaking of Japanese cinema, today I watched Harakiri (I bought the Region B Masters of Cinema edition). If any of you are wondering if you should blind-buy it, the answer is YES! Truly masterful storytelling. The cinematography and Tôru Takemitsu's music are outstanding. And of course, Tatsuya Nakadai is great in the lead role.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

I've always been baffled at the prices people go up to on ebay. Just a few months back, I sold a DVD on there for $20, and at the same time, amazon had it for $7.99.

Ahhhh, one of the luxuries of living in the U.S. CoopFilm. International buyers are often at a serious disadvantage when purchasing off Amazon.COM, which quite often carries product not available at 2 to 4 times list price on their native Amazon sites. Excessive shipping cost is one factor (no free shipping Internationally regardless of $$$ spent), plus an automatic import levy, plus fulfillment restrictions on some items (my attempt to purchase the Magic Blu-ray was blocked), and now apparently no discounts for combined shopping cart items.

Normally I purchase my Criterion Blu-rays off Amazon.CA, but made an exception this week because of the current Criterion sale on *.COM. This order included Kuroneko and Dazed and Confused (both around 40% off the *.CA list price), and Identification of a Woman (currently flagged on *.CA with a 1 to 3 month wait, which usually means they won't be getting it at all), plus a couple of non-Criterion 50% markdowns. Total item cost for the 3 Criterions + 2 other Blu's was $95.95 (yay!) + undiscounted shipping & handling of $39.90 (yikes!) + an Import Fee deposit of $4.80 (shrug!). In total, I still bested the cost of the same items on *.CA, but not by a whole heckuva lot. I just plugged my nose and clicked Submit anyway, concerned about getting stuck in the *.CA queue for Identification of a Woman , and never actually receiving it (as happened with the Crack in the World Blu, which still isn't available from *.CA after nearly 2 months, and that was a pre-order)!

So I suspect many of those bidders on eBay and elsewhere who you might think have lost their minds over price, are merely working within their restricted purchase options for some of those products.

[ROclockCK]

Folks, I'm sorry if I've interrupted your current Eclipse discussion; I've just been catching up with this very l-o-n-g (yet richly detailed) discussion...surely the uncut Berlin Alexanderplatz of threads!

Thanks for indulging my digressive spate of posts this evening. I'll go away now...